Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |

South Korea classifies Mpox as an infectious disease that is subject to border screening from Aug 21,2024.

The Passengers flying from eight African nations must report to the authorities if they are experiencing Mpox symptoms, said Korean health authorities on the afternoon of Aug 20.

The Korean Disease Control and Prevent authorities declared that under the strengthened surveillance measures, the passengers entering South Korea from eight African countries and experiencing symptoms such as fever, chills, rash, or swollen lymph nodes in the neck must report to quarantine officers upon entry as the clade I Mpox variant, which is severe  and spreading rapidly across Africa.

The 8 included countries are Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Kenya, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

South Korean Epidemic investigation officers and public health doctors will be appointed at the arrival gate to respond and monitor passengers swiftly for those flying from Ethiopia according to the KDCA.

The government also plans to implement supplementary monitoring measures, such as inspecting wastewater from planes.

The decision came after the World Health Organization declared Ppox a “public health emergency of international concern” last week.

A week before the decision, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the upsurge of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005).

Dr Tedros said, "The emergence of a new clade of Mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other Mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these out breaks and save lives.”

WHO has reported 15600 Mpox cases and 537 deaths that has been increased since last year.

WHO has released US$ 1.45 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and may need to release more in the coming days.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness caused by the monkey-pox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus became a threat today. It is an infectious disease with a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2–4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.